Joules mulls stake sale to fund expansion

Fashion and homewares retailer Joules is considering selling a minority stake in the business to fund expansion.

The retailer’s founder and largest shareholder, Tom Joule, is understood to have held talks with advisory firm Rothschild to sell part of the business.

The move comes two years after the retailer attempted a similar process but shelved the project, the Evening Standard reported.

Joules is looking to expand its homewares business after recently launching into soft furnishing. It is targeting underlying earnings of up to £7m this year, which would value the business at around £45m.

It is also looking to expand its international arm from a handful of franchise stores in France and Sweden to more of Europe, the US and South East Asia.

Joules reported pre-tax profits of £1.15m in the year to May 27, following a loss of £535,000 the previous year.